Postwar Trials
by Zakiba
Summary: This is a fanfic about the lives of the characters after the War, and the difficulties they face.
1. Chapter 1

_** Hello and thanks to everyone that's reading this! I had the idea of writing a fic about what happens after the comet, so now I'm writing it. It will be set in different characters' POVs, alternating every couple chapters or so. Toph is my favorite character, so I started with her. Enjoy!**_

___(Continuing from where the TV series left off...)_

**Toph's POV**

"Wait, why'd you give Momo's ears?" asked Katara, aka Sweetness.

"Those are your hair loopeys!" answered Sokka, aka Snoozles, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. The rest of the group came over to look at it the painting that Sokka had made. I sighed internally. This was one of the times that I wish I could see. I wondered how he had painted me.

"At least you don't look like a boarcupine!" I heard Zuko yell. "My hair's not that spiky!"

"I look like a man." Mai drawled.

"And why did you draw me firebending?" exclaimed Suki.

"I thought it looked more interesting!" said Sokka lamely. Momo jumped onto the table.

"Oh, you think you could do a better job, Momo?" asked Sokka defensively. I grinned. This was time for some patented, Toph-style sarcasm. "Well I think you all look perfect!" I exclaimed, throwing up my hands. Everyone laughed. I love sarcasm. I love it just as much as Snoozles does, maybe more.

Suddenly, I stopped in my tracks. I could feel Aang, aka Twinkle Toes, and Katara, aka Sweetness or Sugar Queen, sitting on the porch together. Their heartbeats were off the charts, and from what I could tell, their arms were wrapped around each other. I whistled mentally. Now Sweetness had hooked up with Twinkle Toes? And they were being all sappy and romantic in public? This was even better than I could've imagined. I decided to keep this to myself.

Later that evening, after dinner, I felt Twinkle Toes and Sweetness leave the house we were staying in. I quickly got up and followed them, keeping track of them with my feet. They left the house, and walked down an alley in the Upper Ring. I kept a safe distance, and after a couple minutes, they stopped. They were sitting by a large stone structure, and I could hear water gushing lightly. They were just standing there, right up against each other. I bet they were making out or something. Ugh. I hate that stuff. After spying for a few minutes, I got tired and headed back home.

After I got home I went up to my room and sat on my bed. I wasn't tired anymore, not after I had gotten up already. I was just sitting there doing nothing when suddenly, a wave of sadness washed over me. That's right, _sadness._ You must be thinking, it must be a pretty big deal to make me sad. What was going to happen now, I wondered? Was everyone going to go back home? Was _I _going to go back home? I couldn't stand the thought. Returning to my old home, not seeing Aang, or Sokka, or Katara, or Momo, or Appa, or even Zuko and Mai and Suki ever again. Though I didn't want to admit it, but I'd miss all of them, even Katara. The thought made me so sad I could almost feel my eyes getting moist.

_Stop it, _I told myself. _You are tough. You are the greatest earthbender in the world, the inventor of __metalbending. You are Toph Bei Fong! You went from a helpless little blind girl to being one of the most fearsome warriors on earth! You helped stop the 100-year war! You can make it through this! _But despite my self-reassurance, I could feel tears building up in my eyes. But, you know me, I'm to tough to let them fall.. I could count the times I'd cried in the past on one hand. The time I ran away from home when I was 6, The time I thought I would never be able to see the world and travel with the Avatar, and the time Katara were locked in the wooded cell when I thought how much I had hurt my parents.

Going back to my old life seemed so _empty, _now that I'd traveled the world, and made new friends. No, not friends, _family. _Aang, Sokka, Katara, Zuko, Appa, Momo, Mai and Suki were more my family than my real parents had ever been. And now, to throw that all away! After all we'd been through together? From when I first met Aang, to when we lost Appa, to the invasion, to meeting Zuko, to when Sokka and I almost died on that airship.

Before I knew it, a tear or two fell. That's it, now I was mad at myself. I was going to loose everything, my family, and now, my dignity! The past few months were the only time of my life I had actually felt _happy. _Besides, everyone had someone to be with. Sokka was with Suki, Katara was with Aang, and Zuko was with Mai. They were probably going to live together, and I would be all alone.

Another tear fell. This was unacceptable! I had an idea. _When the going gets tough, the tough start earthbending._ I always felt better after a bending session. I jumped off my bed. I wiped my eyes to stop the third tear of the night from falling. I took a deep breath, raised my foot, and drew my arms back. Then, I exhaled quickly while I stomped my foot down and punched my arms forward. I could feel the tingle in my knuckles, then, within a few milliseconds, the wall of my room came crashing down. Then, I felt someone approaching my room. Quickly, I drew my arms in again and the rubble re-assembled back into the wall. Someone knocked on my door.

"Come in." I said. The door opened.

"Toph? What's wrong?" It was Zuko.

"Nothing. What are you doing up?" I asked.

"I should be asking you the same question." he replied. "I couldn't sleep when I heard something crashing. I know you were earthbending, and there, 2 teardrops on your gown. What's the matter?" I turned away.

"Nothing. Go back to sleep." I replied. He came over and sat on my bed.

"No. Something's the matter. You can tell me." I didn't say anything. Giving in that easily would be insulting my pride and my dignity. I'm not Aang or Katara. I'm tougher than that.

Zuko sighed. "You don't have to act so tough all the time. Everyone has emotions." I still didn't say anything.

Zuko shifted a little. "I get it. You're sad about what's going to happen to the group now that the war's over, so you took it out on the wall."

I took a deep breath. "Yeah," I sniffed.

"I know how you feel. "

"But it's different for you. You're with Mai. You'll have a little piece of these times with you. If I went back home-" I sniffed. "I'll never see any of you ever again! I'll be stuck at my parents house for the rest of my life." I was really ashamed to be in this state in front of Zuko.

Zuko put his hand on my shoulder. "When I go back to the Fire Nation, I'll have a long job ahead of me, rebuilding what my forefathers destroyed. The trust of the world. I'll have to redeem the Fire Nation, and help restore balance. That's my destiny. All of us have destinies, you just have to find yours. I know you can do it. After all, you are the most powerful earthbender in the world."

"Thanks, Zuko. But you'd better not tell anyone I told you that!" I said, then punched him on the arm.

"Why did I not see that coming." he muttered, rubbing his arm.

After Zuko left, I lay back down. Was my destiny to return home to a life of misery? Maybe I could choose my own destiny. But was destiny something set in stone? Just like I was always destined to be Aang's earthbending teacher? Or was it something you could change, like how I ran away from home on a split-second decision?

The next thing I knew, sunlight was streaming though the window. I couldn't see it, duh, but I could feel it's warmth against my skin. I got up and stretched. I was still a little down from last night. I opened the door and made my way into the dining room. Everyone else, except for Snoozles, was already eating breakfast. I sat down sullenly. "Morning Toph!" said Aang cheerfully. "Hey." I mumbled.

"So, got any plans?" I asked Aang.

"What do you mean?" he replied.

"What're you going to do, now the Fire Lord's been defeated and the war's over?" I asked.

"You mean, we have to split up?" asked Aang. For a moment I felt hopeful. Maybe Aang wouldn't abandon me.

"Think about it, Aang." said Katara, "We all have different things we have to do, especially you and Zuko. You're the Avatar, and he's the Fire Lord. You both have very important jobs. The rest of us just have to decide what we want to do."

Aang looked at the floor. "Yeah, I guess you're right." he said, a little sadly. Darn that Sugar Queen. Is she _trying_ to ruin my future?

"What about you, Suki?" I asked the Kyoshi Warrior.

"I have to go back to Kyoshi Island for a while." she said. "I have to be with my fellow warriors and help Ty Lee get started with our program, but after that, I think I'll take a little vacation."

"Is Snooz-I mean, is Sokka going with you?" I asked.

"I'm not sure, I haven't had a chance to speak to him about it."

"About what?" Sokka's voice came from the doorway. Suki turned toward him.

"About what you plan to do, now that the war is over." I answered. "Your girlfriend is going to Kyoshi Island, and I was wondering if you were going with her."

Sokka didn't say anything for a moment. "You mean, I have to choose who I will spend my time with?" he asked. "What about you, Katara?"he asked.

"I want to go to the South Pole for a week or two." she answered. "I haven't seen Gran-Gran in almost a year. I haven't decided what I'll do next."

"I'm going with you." said Aang immediately. I was feeling more depressed by the second. Did anyone care about what I was going to do? Did everyone expect me to go back to Gaoling and my parents?

I was about to ask Zuko when I realized that I would be putting him in a very awkward position. How do you answer a question that would make your friend depressed?

I got up. "I'm going to go take a walk." I told the others. Was it just me, or did nobody seem to notice that I got up and walked off?

I walked around outside the Jasmine Dragon for a while, when I realized that there was one last hope: Old Man Iroh! He always gives good advice, when I can understand what the heck he's saying. I went into the kitchen of the Jasmine Dragon where I think he was brewing a pot of tea.

"Um, hey. I need to ask you something." I began nervously. How was I going to ask this?

"What can I do for you, young lady?" he asked, turning around.

I stood there shifting for a moment. "Um, well, I was kinda wondering what you were going to do, now that the war's over."

Iroh didn't say anything for a moment. "Well, I plan to spend most of my time here, and some of my time in the Fire Nation. Why, is something bothering you?"

I sighed. This was going to be harder than I thought.


	2. Toph decides

_** Hey readers! This is also going to be in Toph's P.O.V. I was really pleased with the feedback with my last chapter. So I decided to update early. Enjoy!**_

**Toph's P.O.V**

This was going to be harder than I thought. I took a deep breath. It was now or never.

"Well, what do you think _I _should do now that the war's over?" I asked cautiously. I tried not to make it sound like my future depended on it.

"Young lady, that decision is entirely up to you." he said, not even turning around.

"Oh, come on." I said, "Don't you have any of those cryptic-y, weird, proverby-type pieces of wisdom for me?"

He chuckled. "Oh, you want a piece of wisdom. In that case, hmmm..." He was silent for a moment. "Got it!" He cleared his throat. "I told this to the young Avatar once. Sometimes, life is like being in a dark tunnel. You may not always be able to see the light, but you will always come out in a better place.

"Well, thanks." I said. "Now's the part where I have to go figure out what the heck you just said."

He chuckled again. "You do that. I'm making another cup of tea."

I turned around and walked out. Maybe a walk would help. I started walking through the Upper Ring. I wasn't paying much attention to my surroundings because a million thoughts were turning around inside my head. Would I go off with someone else? Or would I be alone? If I were to go off alone, would I go back to my parents? Or would I just wing it? Where would I wing it to? Here in Ba Sing Se? Or maybe somewhere in the Fire Nation? And what was Iroh told me back at the shop.

I got so caught up in my thoughts that I almost didn't notice a set of familiar footsteps behind me. They were about 50 feet behind me, and whoever they belonged to was trying not to be noticed. But of course, I did notice it. There's not much that I don't notice. But, there were so many people around, I couldn't quite place my finger on who it was. I walked down an alley, they followed me. Then, I led them to a less crowded part of the Upper Ring. There, the footsteps fell back. They must know I was onto them, but it didn't matter. I had already figured out who it was. I concentrated for a moment, pinpointing their exact location. Then, I slowly slid my food up and backward, took a deep breath, felt the tingling in my foot, then slammed my foot down. I felt a distant rumble, followed by a scream, then a loud thud about a foot in front of me.

"Owwww!" Zuko said from where he had landed in front of me. He stood up slowly, groaning.

I held my arms out to my side, then quickly, I pulled them in to my chest, which made two mounds of earth rise out of the ground and trap Zuko in front of me.

"UFFF!" he grunted, trying to break free.

"What were you doing, following me? Did Iroh send you?" I demanded.

"Whoa, take it easy, Toph!" he replied. "I was just worried about you, that's all! You just disappeared this morning at breakfast!"

And...he wasn't lying. His heartbeat was normal, and he wasn't breathing hard.

"You're telling the truth." I said quietly.

"Of course!" he said. "You're my friend, and besides, you seemed so glum this morning! I just wanted to make sure that everything was all right."

I dropped my arms, freeing Zuko.

"You were...worried about me?" I asked.

"Yeah." he said. "I was a little worried."

I turned away. I felt like my head was going to explode.

"Thanks, Zuko." I told him. "But I still don't know what I'm supposed to do now. Everyone else has plans, but I fell so lost."

He walked over and put his hand on my shoulder.

"I know you can make the right choice." he said. He started walking away.

"Oh, and..Toph?" he called back. "You're welcome to go to the Fire Nation and stay as long as you like."

I smiled. "Thanks, Zuko." I said again. And for once, I didn't feel the need to slug him on the arm.

That night, I lay in bed going over my options. They were:

Go to the Fire Nation with Zuko and Mai. (Maybe).

Go to the South Pole with Katara, Aang, and Sokka. (And Momo and Appa).

Go to Kyoshi Island with Suki and Ty Lee. (Not likely).

Go back to Gaoling. (Maybe-*shudder*).

I started thinking about each option. Going to Kyoshi Island with Suki and Ty Lee? I don't think so. Going to the South Pole? Maybe, but Aang and Katara are, you know, together. And Sokka's her brother. They don't need me with them. Besides, the South Pole? Seriously? I wouldn't be able to see a thing in all that ice.

That left me with two options: Go home, or go to the Fire Nation. If I went home, my parents probably wouldn't ever let me out of their sight again. They don't understand me. I'd also never get to see my friends again. If I went to the Fire Nation, I would at least to see Zuko and Mai. I decided to announce my decision to everyone the next morning.

_** Well, that's it for Toph's POV. I know that chapter was really short, but I wanted to switch POVs. Guess who's is next!**_


End file.
